Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 97 (Fujiwara no Teika)

   Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 97

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)

longing for you
who do not come
I am like the salt-making fires
at dusk on the Bay of Waiting
aflame with longing

konu hito o
Matsuho no ura no
yunagi ni
yaku ya moshio no
mi mo kogare tsutsu

こぬ人を
まつほの浦の
夕なぎに
やくやもしほの
身もこがれつつ

Fujiwara no Teika 藤原定家 (1162-1241)

A poem of longing for a lover who never comes. Written at a poetry contest in 1216 hosted by Emperor Juntoku, the speaker in the poem is a woman. It is an allusive variation (honkadori) on a poem in the Manyoshu (6:935). The smouldering passion of the speaker is compared to the salt-making fires lighting up the shore at Matsuho Bay.

Notes

- Matsuho no Ura: the Bay of Matsuho ("The Bay of Waiting") on Awaji island, an utamakura. In the name of the bay "matsu" is written with the kanji for "pine tree", but in the poem it is also a pun on waiting (matsu) for the person who doesn't come (konu hito wo).
- yunagi: evening calm
- yaku ya moshio no: brine and seaweed were boiled down on the beach to make salt. (ya is an interjection without a specific meaning here).
- kogareru：to yearn for
- tsutsu: indicates that the speaker in the poem has waited night after night.

The Poet

Fujiwara no Sadaie, better-known as Fujiwara no Teika (1162 – 1241), is counted among the greatest Japanese poets. He was also an anthologist, calligrapher, and literary critic of note, whose influence was enormous. A member of a poetic clan, Teika was born to the noted poet Fujiwara no Shunzei (poem 83). After coming to the attention of the Cloistered Emperor Go-Toba, Teika began his long and distinguished career, spanning multiple areas of aesthetic endeavor. His relationship with Go-Toba was at first cordial and led to commissions to compile anthologies, but later resulted in his banishment from the cloistered emperor's court. His descendants and critical ideas on composing poetry would dominate classical Japanese poetry for centuries afterwards.

Teika was one of the editors of the Shin Kokinshu and later edited the Shinchokusenshu by himself. He collated and edited many of the classics of Japanese literature, such as The Tale of Genji. His personal poetry collection is extant and he has 465 poems in imperial anthologies. He is the compiler of One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each anthology.

Shin Kokinshu (Shin Kokin Wakashu

Shin Kokinshu (新古今和歌集, "New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern"), the eighth imperial waka anthology. Together with the Man'yoshu and the Kokinshu, the Shin Kokinshu is widely considered to be one of the three most influential poetic anthologies in Japanese literary history. It was commissioned in 1201 by the Cloistered Emperor Go-Toba (r 1183-1198), who established a new Bureau of Poetry at his Nijo palace with eleven Fellows, headed by Fujiwara no Yoshitsune, for the purpose of conducting poetry contests and compiling the anthology. Despite its emphasis on contemporary poets, the Shin Kokinshu covered a broader range of poetic ages than the Kokinshu, including ancient poems that the editors of the first anthology had deliberately excluded. It was officially presented in 1205, on the 300th anniversary of the completion of the Kokinshu.

Although Go-Toba retained veto power over the poems included in the anthology as well as the order in which they were presented, he assigned the task of compilation to six of the Fellows of the Bureau of Poetry. These were Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241), Fujiwara no Ariie, Fujiwara no Ietaka, Jakuren, Minamoto no Michitomo and Asukai Masatsune. The anthology was also given a preface in Japanese prose by Fujiwara no Yoshitsune and a preface in Chinese by Fujiwara no Chikatsune, in a manner reminiscent of the Kokinshu.

Poems included in Hyakunin Isshu: 2, 4, 6, 19, 27, 46, 54, 57, 79, 84, 87, 89, 91, 94 (total 14)

[Matsuho Bay on Awaji Island]

Visiting

Matsuho Bay lies on the north side of Awaji Island and refers to the coast here which faces the Strait of Akashi. A body of water with strong tidal currents, the Strait of Akashi links the Seto Inland Sea with Osaka Bay. It is also a key point for crossing the sea to the area around Kyoto. Awaji Island is where the Ama, with their superb seafaring skills, flourished in olden times. The Manyoshu already mentions that the Ama made salt here, and that Matsuho no Ura was used as an anchor ground for the crossing over the Strait of Akashi.

According to the creation myth in the Kojiki, Awaji was the first of the Japanese islands born from the union between the deities Izanagi and Izanami, and is dotted with famous places such as Izanagi Jingu and Onokorojima Shrine. The area around Matsuho Bay now is called Iwaya and you also find here the Iwaya Shrine which is associated with the Onokoro story of Japanese mythology. It is refreshing to stand on the coast here and see small skiffs with fishermen shoot through strait, followed by clouds of shrieking seagulls. You also see the world's longest suspension bridge, Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which crosses the Strait here from Kobe. What you don't see are salt makers, for that occupation has long died out on Awaji. Despite the bridge, the nicest way to cross over to Awaji is the ferry from Akashi, the Jenova Line (the only ferry left after the bridge was built). It is quite frequent and convenient. See this website about historical sites on Awaji Island.

References: Pictures of the Heart, The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image by Joshua S. Mostow (University of Hawai'i Press, 1996); One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, by Peter MacMIllan (Penguin Classics); Traditional Japanese Poetry, An Anthology, by Steven D. Carter (Stanford University Press, 1991); Hyakunin Isshu by Inoue Muneo, etc. (Shinchosha, 1990); Genshoku Hyakunin Isshu by Suzuki Hideo, etc. (Buneido, 1997); Chishiki Zero kara no Hyakunin Isshu, by Ariyoshi Tamotsu (Gentosha); Hyakunin Isshu Kaibo Zukan, by Tani Tomoko (X-Knowledge);  Ogura Hyakunin Isshu at Japanese Text Initiative (University of Virginia Library Etext Center); Hyakunin Isshu wo aruku by Shimaoka Shin (Kofusha Shuppan); Hyakunin Isshu, Ocho waka kara chusei waka e by Inoue Muneo (Chikuma Shoin, 2004); Basho's Haiku (2 vols) by Toshiharu Oseko (Maruzen, 1990); The Ise Stories by Joshua S. Mostow and Royall Tyler (University of Hawai'i Press, 2010); Kokin Wakashu, The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry by Helen Craig McCullough (Stanford University Press, 1985); Kokinshu, A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern by Laurel Rasplica Rodd and Mary Catherine Henkenius (University of Tokyo Press, 1984); Kokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1994); Shinkokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1995); Taketori Monogatari-Ise Monogatari-Yamato Monogatari-Heichu Monogatari (Shogakkan, 1994).

    Illustration / Photo: Wikipedia.

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